The Effects of Consumer Cosmopolitanism on Purchase Behavior of Foreign vs. Domestic Products

The purpose of this empirical study is to investigate the effects of consumer cosmopolitanism on foreign product purchase behavior in three major categories of consumer products (alcohol products, clothes, furniture). Based on the existing theoretical and empirical knowledge, we develop a conceptual model and identify two additional constructs as antecedents of foreign purchase behavior, i. e., consumer ethnocentrism and consumer knowledge of brand origins. The measurement model is examined using a data set of 261 adult consumers and tested via structural equation modeling. The study results confirm the strong total effect of consumer cosmopolitanism in purchase behavior and indicate a strong direct effect of this phenomenon on the behavioral outcome. The more cosmopolitan consumers have a stronger tendency to buy foreign rather than local products. On the other hand, the direct relationship between cosmopolitanism and consumer knowledge of brand origin was not supported in the study.cosmopolitanism, consumer ethnocentrism, knowledge of brand origins, foreign product purchase behavior, Slovenia

Fiscal Discipline and Social Capital: Evidence from Europe during the Last Economic Crisis and Recovery

The purpose of the current paper is to investigate the possible relationship between fiscal discipline and social capital in EU member states during the last economic crisis and recovery, along with the assessment of the initial welfare effects of fiscal stimulus measures. Preliminary results show that institutional trust and general trust as social capital indicators associate positively with the extent of fiscal stimulus, while governance indicators show negative correlations. However, the significance of these results is relatively low and the subject needs thus further investigation. Further, it appeared that fiscal stimulus had weak positive effect on short-term recovery of GDP and employment, but not on medium-term GDP growth potential

Complex interdependence and peace: a comparative analytical study of Ukraine, Georgia and CIS member-states from 2000-2014

The idea of the research project is to examine the possible correlation between economic interdependence and security. The following thesis will look at the members of Commonwealth of Independent States in a dyad with Russia over the last decade in order to determine the variables, that accordance with the independent variable, i.e. economic interdependence can affect security in the mentioned dyads. Already from the 1950s, liberals in international relations along with liberals in economics have described the benefits of trade and economic interdependence, making it too costly to engage in a conflict. Globalization theorists have evolved the concept and economists tend to say that the world is (at least in financial terms) very much interdependent. This all should make conflict a very costly option for a state and enforce pacifism between states and in the international arena in general. But economic interdependence can also be of asymmetric nature, making the costs of a conflict very high to one counterpart and thus reducing the threat of a conflict to the second counterpart. The thesis will look at how economic interdependence along with other relevant variables can affect conflict or perhaps prevent it from happening in the first place. A theory is presented and it is tested through corroborative examples of military disputes between Russia and the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States.http://www.ester.ee/record=b4580828*es

Kliimamuutuste mõju kase ja kuuse peenjuurtele ning nendega seotud mikroobikooslustele

Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsiooneKliima soojenedes ja õhuniiskuse tõustes sõltub Põhja-Euroopa metsade seisund ja süsinikusidumine peenjuurte ja nendega seotud mikroobikoosluste kohanemisvõimest. Antud töös uuriti suurendatud õhuniiskuse ja mullasoojenemise mõju arukase (Betula pendula) ja kuuse (Picea abies ja P. sitchensis) peen- ja imijuurte biomassile, imijuurte morfoloogiale ning ektomükoriissete seente ja risosfääribakterite kooslustele. Manipulatsioonikatsete tulemusi võrreldi mõõtmistega geotermaalsel mullatemperatuurigradiendil ja vaatlustega geograafilisel laiuskraadigradiendil. Kõigil kolmel uuritud puuliigil ilmnes stressitingimustes samasuunaline morfoloogiline reaktsioon, mis väljendus pikemate, vähemharunenud imijuurte moodustamises ning omastava pinna suurendamises juuremassiühiku kohta. Põhjapoolse paiknemise ja õhuniiskuse tõusuga kaasnes suurem peen- ja imijuurte biomass; eksperimentaalne mullasoojendamine ja lõunapoolne paiknemine põhjustasid juurte biomassi ja juurte kudede tiheduse vähenemist, mis viitab kiiremale juurte elutsüklile soojemates muldades. Laiuskraadiuuringutes leiti olulisi kolmepoolseid vastastikmõjusid juurte morfoloogia, neid koloniseeriva seenekoosluse ning mulla ja risosfääri bakterikoosluse vahel. Õhuniiskuse kasvades suurenes seenekoosluses oluliselt hüdrofiilse mütseeliga liikide osakaal. Soojemates muldades esines rohkem suure hüüfimassiga kauglevi-mütseelitüüpi moodustavaid seeni. Nii õhuniiskuse tõustes kui mulla soojenedes suurenes seeneperekond Tomentella osakaal, mis on tõenäoliselt seotud kiirema juurte elutsükliga. Laiuskraadigradiendil määras suure osa imijuuretunnuste ja juurtega seotud mikroobikoosluste struktuuri varieeruvusest mulla süsiniku ja lämmastiku suhe. Käesolevast tööst ilmneb, et kased ja kuused reageerivad keskkonnamuutustele aktiivselt juurte morfoloogiat ja biomassi modifitseerides, millega kaasnevad samaaegsed nihked juurtega seotud mikroobikooslustes, ning nimetatud muutused on omavahel tugevalt seotud. Uuringute tulemused lubavad oletada, et vähemalt uuritud liikide puhul on tegemist üldiste kohanemismustritega niiskema ja soojema kliima suhtes.In the face of rising temperatures and humidity, the functioning and carbon storage of northern European forests is largely dependent on the acclimation ability of fine roots and root-associated microbial communities. We investigated the effects of increased air humidity and soil warming on silver birch (Betula pendula) and spruce (Picea abies and P. sitchensis) fine and absorptive root biomass (FRB, aFRB), absorptive root morphology and the communities of ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi and rhizosphere bacteria, comparing results from field manipulation experiments to observations from a small-scale geothermal soil temperature gradient and large-scale latitudinal gradients. We witnessed a uniform morphological response of forming longer and less branched absorptive roots with increased specific root length and area in all studied species to obstructions in nutrient uptake or otherwise stressful growing conditions. Air humidification and a northern location resulted in higher FRB and aFRB, while experimental warming and a southern location caused a decrease in FRB and aFRB and root tissue density, which suggests increased root turnover in warmer soils. Strong trilateral relationships between absorptive root morphology, EcM fungal community and soil bacterial community emerged in the studied birch stands. Humidification caused a shift towards a higher proportion of hydrophilic morphotypes; a higher proportion of long-distance exploration type was recorded in warmer soils. Warming and humidification led to a rise in the proportion of Tomentella spp., possibly related to higher root turnover. On the latitudinal gradient, the soil C:N ratio was the main determinant of variation in absorptive root traits and root-associated microbial community structure. This thesis demonstrates how birches and spruces respond to environmental change through active modifications in root morphology and biomass, concurring with shifts in root-associated microbial community, and all these changes proved to be strongly inter-related. The similar root reactions, irrespective of tree species, stand age, location, or experiment type, permit us to conclude that the observed responses reflect general acclimation patterns, at least for the studied species.https://www.ester.ee/record=b534664

Christianity as Active Pity in Crime and Punishment

Christianity as Active Pity in Crime and Punishmen

Sissejuhatus / Introduction

Introductio

Critical Velocity of Vortex Nucleation in Rotating Superfluid 3He-A

We have measured the critical velocity v_c at which 3He-A in a rotating cylinder becomes unstable against the formation of quantized vortex lines with continuous (singularity-free) core structure. We find that v_c is distributed between a maximum and minimum limit, which we ascribe to a dependence on the texture of the orbital angular momentum l(r) in the cylinder. Slow cool down through T_c in rotation yields l(r) textures for which the measured v_c's are in good agreement with the calculated instability of the expected l texture.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Kestlik kogukonnakorraldus: kultuuripärandiga seostuvate arendustegevuste peegeldusi Kihnu saarelt, Viljandi maakonnast ja Eesti kaitsealadelt

The PhD thesis of Priit-Kalev Parts entitled “Sustainable community management in Estonia: reflections on heritage projects on Kihnu Island, in Viljandi county, and in various protected areas” examines the problems related to the administration and protection of landscape, rural life and other traditional values in an era in which, even for rural populations, agriculture is being rapidly demoted to a subsidiary source of employment and income. The author analyses the conceptual underpinnings of the conservation of nature and heritage in Estonia and reveals implicit ideological currents in the regulatory practice of the field. The thesis suggests a series of alternative concepts (living landscape, rural inhabitants as an endangered breed, heritage-based sustainable livelihoods, endangered settlements) as the basis for the assessment, monitoring and regulation of rural landscapes. The author elaborates a series of guidelines and measures to ensure that, in the management of landscape planning and rural cultural heritage, closer attention is paid to the specifics of local conditions and that local residents are not cornered into addictive subsidy arrangements by excessive prohibitions and controls on their livelihoods. The thesis includes examples of attempts to reconceptualise local nature and heritage protection as a complex set of actions seeking to develop sustainable livelihoods. The approach highlights the role of values in the making of the corresponding decisions and suggests various options for achieving economic and administrative savings in practical landscape planning. The thesis discusses how the approach may be implemented in the protected areas of Estonia and in other culturally sensitive areas. The approach is also shown to hold considerable potential for application in the administration and regional development of cultural landscapes located outside protected areas. The studies conducted as part of the thesis show that there is no agreement in Estonia concerning the values that underpin the assessment of cultural landscapes and cultural heritage. Although a certain body of accepted rhetorical formulations has developed over time, it is often used to justify widely different or even outright contradictory aims and visions, which often results in the euphemisation of problems and development priorities. The accepted rhetoric appears to favour the interests and perspectives of mobile groups (tourists, academic experts) over those of local residents and is geared to generate opposition between economic activities and protective measures. The author recommends a more dynamic and complex approach to rural values and suggests that protective measures should be integrated into the development of sustainable local livelihoods. This entails a series of challenges to official institutions in terms of rewriting the existing regulations and rethinking their practical work such that the protection regimes of each protected area would be determined with regard to the specifics of the area. It also means that, where necessary, the institutions should be prepared to grant local communities priority rights to use natural resources, to relieve the restrictions on human activity in endangered settlements and to arrange for and recognise, in relation to certain trades, the individual learning of those in the immediate or approximate environment of skill bearers.Priit-Kalev Partsi doktoritöö “Kestlik kogukonnakorraldus: kultuuripärandiga seostuvate arendustegevuste peegeldusi Kihnu saarelt, Viljandi maakonnast ja Eesti kaitsealadelt” käsitleb maaliste väärtuste haldust ja kaitset olukorras, kus põllumajandus on maapiirkondade elanike jaoks taandumas kõrvaliseks sissetuleku ja tööhõive allikaks. Autor analüüsib loodus- ja muinsuskaitse kontseptuaalseid aluseid ning varjatult ideoloogilisi seoseid valdkonna korralduspraktikaga, pakkudes välja alternatiivseid mõtestamiskonstruktsioone (elav maastik, maainimene kui ohustatud tõug, pärandipõhine kestlik elatis, ohustatud asustusega külad) maa-maastike hindmiseks, seireks ja korralduseks. Analüüsi ja alternatiivsete kontseptsioonide sünteesi alusel töötas autor välja tegevusjuhiseid ja meetmeid maa-maastike ja maakultuuripärandi senisest kohasidusamaks ja iseorganiseeruvamaks korraldamiseks. Väitekirjas demonstreerib autor kohaliku loodus- ja muinsuskaitse ümbermõtestamise katseid kestlike elatiste arendamisele suunatud tegevuste kompleksina. Lähenemine toob selgelt esile väärtuspõhisuse ning pakub praktilisele maastikukorraldusele majanduslikke ja halduslikke kokkuhoiuvõimalusi. Väitekiri demonstreerib, kuidas antud lähenemist rakendada Eesti kaitsealadel ja teistel kultuuriliselt tundlikel aladel, osutades selle potentsiaalile ka väljaspool kaitsealasid paiknevate kultuurmaastike haldamises ja regionaalses arendustöös. Doktoritöö tulemusena selgus, et Eestis puudub kokkulepe kultuurmaastike ja kultuuripärandi väärtuskriteeriumite osas. Kuigi välja on kujunenud ühtne retoorika, teostatakse selle raames väga erinevaid või lausa vastuolulisi eesmärke ja nägemusi, mis viib sageli probleemide ning arenguprioriteetide eufemistliku käsitlemiseni. Väljakujunenud retoorika kaldub eelistama liikuvate (turistid, akadeemilised eksperdid) rühmade huve ja vaatenurka paiksete ees ning suunab majandus- ja kaitsetegevusi vastandama. Väitekirja autor soovitab läheneda maalistele väärtustele dünaamilisemalt ja komplekssemalt, lõimides kaitsetegevused kohalike kestlike majanduspraktikate arendamisega. Ametlikele institutsioonidele kätkeb see nii õiguslikke kui praktilist töökultuuri puudutavaid väljakutseid määratleda väärtused ja vastavad hoiumeetmed iga ala puhul eraldi. Samuti tähendab see institutsioonidele vajadust arendada valmisolekut anda kohalikule kogukonnale vajadusel loodusressursside kasutamisel eelisõigusi, leevendada inimtegevuse õiguslikke ja praktilisi piiranguid ohustatud asustusega külades ning korraldada ja tunnustada teatud oskuste õpet individuaalselt oskuste kandjate vahetus või lähedases keskkonnas